Event: NAEPEC 2023 — North Africa & Europe Energy & Hydrogen Exhibition and Conference · Venue: Fira Barcelona Gran Via, Spain
Client: NAFFCO · Sector: Fire protection and safety systems for energy infrastructure
Size: 40 m² (8 × 5 m) · Dates: 13–16 March 2023
The project
A stand for NAFFCO — one of the world’s largest manufacturers of firefighting equipment and fire protection systems — at NAEPEC 2023, Fira Barcelona Gran Via — a 40 m² build on an 8 × 5 metre footprint.
Delivered for NAFFCO by the team that now designs and fabricates under the Echo Expo name. Echo Expo SARL was founded in 2025 by a team carrying over 20 years of hands-on exhibition experience.
Why this show matters more to us than most
NAEPEC exists to connect North Africa and Europe across energy, hydrogen, decarbonisation and carbon capture — national oil companies, international operators, EPC contractors and government delegations in one hall.
That is the exact axis Echo Expo is built on. Our own two production bases sit at either end of it: Milan for the European fair circuit, Casablanca for North African production and delivery. An exhibitor at NAEPEC is usually trading across the same corridor we build across.
Fire protection is a difficult thing to exhibit
NAFFCO’s product is equipment that exists to never be used, sold to engineers who specify it against standards rather than buy it on impression.
- The hardware is heavy and unglamorous. Pumps, panels, extinguishing systems and vehicles carry serious point loads, and they have to be reachable and inspectable rather than staged
- Certification is the selling point. Approvals, standards and test data are the content. The stand has to make dense technical credentials legible without turning into a wall of text
- The buyer is an EPC contractor or a plant operator. Conversations are long and technical, so seated meeting space matters more than passing footfall
- Power has to be planned, not assumed. Live equipment demonstrations need a confirmed electrical supply agreed with the venue in advance — a document, not an intention
What was built
A fully custom stand in wooden MDF, painted and finished to the design specification, on an elevated platform with a ramp and white laminated flooring.
- Elevated platform and ramp. Raising the floor lets power, data and cabling run beneath the stand instead of across it — and the ramp keeps the whole stand accessible rather than trading accessibility for a clean floor. On a stand selling safety systems, that is not a detail to get wrong
- A lockable storage room. On a 40 m² stand, giving up floor area to secure storage is a deliberate decision. Literature, samples, personal belongings and demonstration equipment need somewhere that locks — and a stand without it ends up with boxes under the counter for four days
- Full ceiling structure, which closes the stand visually from above and carries the lighting
- HD vinyl graphics, painted wall decoration and decorative inserts, all produced to the approved design
- Protective film over the flooring throughout installation — laminate is finished before the crew arrives, and it is the first thing damaged if it is not covered
None of that is exotic. It is the ordinary discipline of a stand that has to look finished on the morning it opens, built by people who will be standing on it.
Nine days from drawings to doors
Production drawings for this stand were released on 4 March 2023. The show opened on 13 March.
That is a short window for a fabricated stand travelling from Milan to Barcelona, and it only works if the design, the workshop and the freight schedule are under one roof. There is no version of that timeline that survives being passed between a broker and three subcontractors.
Why it matters
This is a second energy proof point alongside our 63 m² stand at Gastech, Fiera Milano, and a second Fira Barcelona build alongside six stands at a single Vitafoods Europe edition.
It also adds fire protection and safety systems to a sector list that already covers pharmaceutical, food ingredients, cosmetics, textiles, rail and aerospace.
Services delivered
- Stand design and 3D visualisation
- Custom fabrication in our own workshops
- Load-bearing plinths for heavy equipment display
- Electrical design, supply booking and venue confirmation
- Large-format graphics and branding
- Freight, customs and on-site logistics
- Fira Barcelona compliance documentation
- Installation, supervision and dismantling by our own crew
Frequently asked questions
Do you build stands for energy and hydrogen exhibitions?
Yes — NAFFCO at NAEPEC Barcelona, and a 63 m² stand at Gastech, Fiera Milano. Both in the oil, gas, energy and hydrogen sector.
Can you display heavy equipment safely on a stand?
Yes. Point loading, plinth engineering, access routes and lifting clearance are designed in from the first layout, and the structural documentation the venue requires is produced by us rather than subcontracted.
Do you work across Europe and North Africa?
That is the core of the business. Our workshops are in Milan, Italy and Casablanca, Morocco, and we deliver across both regions. See every exhibition and venue we build at.
Exhibiting at an energy show in Europe or North Africa?
Tell us the venue and the dates and we will quote it — info@echoexpo.site.